


Tough Love

by Blood_On_Glass



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Boyfriends, Caring Castiel, Emetophilia, High School AU, M/M, Sick!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 05:18:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12646881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blood_On_Glass/pseuds/Blood_On_Glass
Summary: Castiel arrives at school only to find out Dean's sick. Naturally, he wants to take care of his sick boyfriend, but Dean is not making it easy.





	Tough Love

**Author's Note:**

> Someone requested a sick!Dean in a high school AU setting on my Tumblr.

The first thing Castiel heard when he walked towards Dean’s locker, was a series of wet coughs followed by a creative string of bad language only Dean could think of. On a normal day, Castiel would walk into the school, head toward Dean’s locker, and see him standing in wait, usually listening to music and ignoring the rest of the student population. Now, Dean was hunched over, looking tired and miserable and coughing up a storm. Castiel felt his stomach clench with worry as he stood in front of his pale, shaky boyfriend. Instinctively, Castiel wanted to throw his arms around Dean, feel his forehead, and then comfort him. However, he knew by now that Dean was different and needed to be taken care of in a more discreet manner. Dean has always been defensive, but nothing amplified that more than when he was sick. Approaching Dean like this was similar to approaching a wild animal. 

“So,” Castiel began slowly and carefully as he leaned against the lockers, making sure not to stare too much. “I’m guessing this was why you weren’t at school yesterday?” 

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but instead of words coming out, it was another series of wet coughs. Castiel watched as his boyfriend turned away from him and covered his mouth with a tissue until the coughs finally subsided. “Yeah, sorry I didn’t text you,” he answered. Castiel had to hold back from wincing at how rough his voice sounded. 

“You never text me,” Castiel pointed out, trying to sound dismissive about it. “Anyway, I just figured you were ditching. Wouldn’t be the first time.” 

Dean only shrugged as he coughed up phlegm into the overused tissue. Castiel wanted to make a snide remark about Dean’s smoking but held back. This was definitely not the time to stage an intervention for his boyfriend. After Dean was finished, he stuffed the tissue into his pocket and sighed, the breath sounding short and rattly. “No, Principle Crowley has been getting on my ass about missing school. I really didn’t want to get into it with him again. Anyway, I’m fine. Just a cold.” 

Castiel didn’t believe that for a second. Dean could have blood oozing out of every orifice in his body and still claim to be fine. There wasn’t time to protest though as the loud bell announced that first period was about to begin. Usually, Castiel would give Dean a quick peck on the lips before scurrying of to class, but this time he hesitated. He didn’t want to leave Dean alone until he knew for sure he was okay. However, Dean gave him a pointed look and he knew it was no use. Castiel sighed softly before kissing his boyfriend’s cheek and heading off in the direction of his first period class. The entire walk there, he debated on what he could do to help Dean, even if help was claimed to not be needed. 

Halfway through his honors government class, Castiel received a text from Dean, that simply said: 

_Bleugh. -DW_

Castiel couldn’t help but smile at the simplicity, knowing that was as close as Dean would ever admit to not feeling well. He couldn’t help but text back. 

_Are you actually still in class? -CN_

Dean’s reply took a while. 

_No. I left auto shop to puke and when I came back Mr. Turner told me to go to the nurse.-DW_

Castiel frowned at Dean’s text and didn’t hesitate to respond. 

_You threw up? Dean, I don’t think this is just a cold. -CN_

Castiel waited a few minutes, but when no reply came from Dean, he knew he had to take action. He told his government teacher he wasn’t feeling well and hurried out of the room towards the nurse’s office. Dean would probably be angry with him for skipping class to see him but he didn’t care. Dean didn’t often admit he was sick, so Castiel knew this had to be worse than he originally thought. He felt his stomach clench with worry as he stepped into the nurse’s office, not sure what to expect. However, Dean wasn’t in the room and Castiel gave the nurse a curious look. 

“He’s in there, honey,” the nurse explained, gesturing to the bathroom. “Are you the boyfriend he’s been talking about?” 

The fact that Dean had been talking about him made his face heat up, and Castiel nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” she assured him, standing from her desk.”There’s a nasty flu bug going around, and Dean was apparently the next unfortunate victim.” The nurse came and stood in front of him, holding a hand out with a smile. “I’m Jody Mills, by the way. The new nurse.”

Castiel returned the smile and shook her hand. “Castiel.”

“I know. He’s only said your name a million times.” Jody sat back down at her desk and looked up at him, and Castiel knew he was blushing again over the fact that Dean had been talking about him a lot. “You can go in there if you’d like,” she continued, looking at the closed door. “But if this stuff grosses you out, I understand. I’m sure he would too.” 

Castiel was already making his way to the bathroom. “No, I’m fine. Thanks, Jody.” Castiel was sure Dean needed his space, but he needed to see for himself that his boyfriend was okay. He opened the bathroom door and made sure to shut it behind him before looking over at Dean who was crouching in front of the toilet, a string of sick hanging off his lower lip.

 

“Why are you here?” Dean grumbled, spitting into the toilet. The sick was still on his lip and Castiel quickly moved forward and wiped it away with a piece of toilet paper, ignoring the protests as it was done. 

 

“Because you clearly aren’t as fine as you’d like to believe,” Castiel answered pointedly. He took a seat on the ground next to Dean and stared at him, looking for signs that this was something serious. 

“It’s the flu,” Dean snapped. “Go away.” The venomous tone would have been more effective if it weren’t for the fact that he gagged right after, bringing up a small mouthful of vomit. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Castiel protested. “You always take care of me when I’m sick. Though, I’m not this much of an asshole when I’m sick.”

Dean burped into the toilet bowl before answering. “No, you just whine the whole time.” Castiel didn’t miss the grimace Dean’s face nor did he miss the way Dean’s arm wrapped around his stomach.

Castiel placed a hand on Dean’s back and reached forward to wipe away the sweat that was gathering on his forehead with some toilet paper. “You got me there,” he answered. “No shame.” He could handle Dean’s attitude -- he’d been dealing with it for years, but what he couldn’t handle, was the idea of his boyfriend suffering alone. So, he would put up with the remarks and stay with him and help him through this.

Dean’s muscles tightened from beneath his hand and Castiel watched as he heaved into the toilet with tremendous effort. The toilet bowl had already been full when Castiel arrived, and he knew there couldn’t be much else in Dean’s stomach. The heave had only brought up a small bit of yellow bile which most of it remained on Dean’s lips until Castiel wiped it away. Surprisingly, the action hadn’t been met with a snippy comment from Dean, which told Castiel that his boyfriend was starting to get tired. Assuming Dean was done for a while, he flushed the toilet and leaned the other male against the wall while he went over to the sink and began to wet some paper towels with cold water. When he was finished, he knelt back down in front of Dean and began to gently wipe his face, ridding it of any sweat or vomit that might have still been lingering. 

“Alright,” Dean said after a while, moving his head away. Castiel was surprised he had let it go on for as long as it had. “I’m good.” Dean 

Castiel shook his head and tossed the paper towel into the trashcan. “Just because you’re more or less clean now, does not mean that you’re ‘good’, Dean.” Dean began coughing, as though to emphasize his point, and Castiel could only raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, you need to go home and go to bed. Do you need a ride?” 

Dean had to finish coughing before he could reply. “Home? I’d rather not.” 

Castiel wanted to slap himself, as he should have known that wouldn’t be an option for Dean. “Well, as irritating and fussy as my mom can be, she would never turn away anyone who needed a place to stay. Especially anyone who looks like they’re on their deathbed. You can come to my house and crash, she won’t mind.”

“Yeah, but Sammy--”

“Sam is more than welcome too. We have a guest room that both of you can sleep in,” Castiel interrupted. He knew that even while sick, Dean would always put Sam before himself. Well, Dean put almost everyone before himself which Castiel both loved and hated at the same time. It often led to a small illness turning into something more serious that could have been prevented if Dean had just taken the time to take care of himself. 

Dean was either too tired to argue any further, or Castiel finally managed to get through to him, because Dean nodded in agreement -- something he didn’t do often regarding his own health. Castiel would take the win though, hoping that with some help, his boyfriend would be back on his feet quicker. He helped Dean up and led him back into the room where Jody was waiting. She had made up a bed for him and Castiel sighed in relief, knowing Dean wouldn’t be able to stay upright for much longer. 

“Here we go,” Castiel said softly as he ushered Dean down onto the bed. “I know you don’t like this kind of thing, but you really should rest while I call my mom. I’m gonna sign us both out, okay? And then I can take you to my house.” Much to Castiel’s surprise, Dean nodded in agreement, which only proved how tired he was. Castiel stayed with Dean, gently stroking his hair until he fell asleep, and he then began the process of getting his very sick boyfriend in bed. 

 

About twenty minutes later, Castiel was gently nudging Dean awake. He wished he could let his boyfriend sleep without interruption, but he knew he had to get them both home. Dean’s green eyes fluttered open slowly, and Castiel took a step back to give him some space. “Hey,” he greeted gently. “We should get you out of here. My mom is cool with you and Sam coming over.” 

The mention of Sam’s name had Dean sitting up instantly, the movement causing him to wince and put a hand to his head. “I gotta go get ‘em,” he mumbled. 

Castiel shook his head and moved closer to Dean again, reaching up and putting a hand to his head. “I’ll pick him up once school is out, but that’s not for another three hours.” Castiel frowned when Dean winced again and he put his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Does your head hurt?” Dean only shrugged in response, but it was as close to a confession that he would ever get, so Castiel decided to take it as a win. “Okay, well we have some stuff back at my house that you can take for it. Come on.” Castiel helped Dean off the bed, and wasn’t surprised in the least bit when Dean shrugged off his touch and began to make his way out of the room on his own. With a sigh, Castiel knew the only thing he could do was closely follow him. 

 

Getting Dean home was harder than it should have been. First off, Castiel had a hard time convincing the other male that he was, in fact, not okay to drive himself. That was met with a ‘I can’t leave Baby here’ to which Castiel offered to drive them back in the Impala. That was only answered with a glare, which eventually led to Castiel driving the two of them back in his own car, leaving the Impala in the parking lot for the night. Second of all, Castiel had to pull over twice during the fifteen-minute drive back to his house so Dean could vomit. Well, the first time he threw up, the second time he dry heaved for five minutes until Castiel finally forced him to sit back in the car, handing him a bag he could heave into. 

When they were finally pulling up to the house, Castiel sighed in relief and looked over at his sick boyfriend. “We’re here.” 

Dean lifted his head from the passenger window and nodded. “Thanks. I’ve only been to your house a million times. I know what it looks like, Cas.” 

Dean’s irritability was really getting on Castiel’s nerves, but he knew that there wasn’t much that could be done about it. He got out of the car and made his way to the front door, knowing that trying to help Dean would only get him yelled at. He did wait on the porch for Dean, however, and once they were both at the door, he led the two of them inside. His mom was at work, and his dad was probably in his office working on his book, so that basically meant it was just the two of them. “Do you need help up the stairs?” he asked Dean, risking whatever snarky response he would receive. To his surprise, Dean only shook his head, the exhaustion probably outweighing his agitation. 

Castiel stayed behind Dean the entire time up the stairs and toward the guest bedroom, just in case he fell. Luckily, Dean made it to the bed without any incident and he unceremoniously collapsed on top of it with a heavy sigh. Castiel sat down on the bed beside him and put a hand on his back. “Would you like some water or something?” he asked. 

“Don’t think I’d be able to keep it down,” Dean mumbled into the pillow. His green eyes slowly slid shut as he finally began to relax once again. “You’ll pick up Sammy?” he asked. 

“I promise,” Castiel assured him. “And we’ll talk about books and homework the whole ride over.” 

“Nerds,” Dean said, but there was a hint of affection in his tone. Castiel didn’t miss it, and he dared to reach out and place a hand on Dean’s cheek. To his surprise, it wasn’t brushed away. “Cas, I’m sorry I’m such a dick.” 

Castiel couldn’t help but scoff; he was thankful Dean was aware of his attitude. “Well, it happens to the best of us. I snap at you when I get migraines. It’s only fair.” Castiel leaned down and kissed the top of Dean’s head, his other hand rubbing up and down Dean’s back to coax him to sleep. “I love you, though.”

Dean smiled for the first time that day, and it was the most beautiful smile in the whole world, Castiel thought. “I love you too.” With that, Dean drifted off and Castiel stayed by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. As always, my Tumblr is hold-my-hair-back . That's where you can find a lot more stories written by yours truly, all focusing on emeto or general illness. That's also where I take requests.


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